Listen to an academic analysis of the 'Wizarding World of Harry Potter'

One 'Harry Potter' fan fiction deals with cognitive science and philosophy

Eliezer Yudkowsky's "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" is not your typical fan fiction: It uses JK Rowling's fictional universe to wrestle with rationalist philosophy and the physics behind the magic taught at Hogwarts. The book went on to become popular in Silicon Valley, especially in the effective altruism movement.

'Harry Potter’ follows a young wizard’s battle against evil

The seven-book series traces Harry’s journey from an orphan discovering his magical heritage to confronting the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. Alongside friends Hermione and Ron, he faces loss, power, and moral choice in a world divided between good and evil.

Go behind the scenes of the making of the ‘Harry Potter’ films

See a rare look at how the beloved series was brought to life—from set design and visual effects to interviews with cast and crew who shaped the wizarding world on screen.

'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter' brought the books to life in theme parks

Opened in 2010 at Universal Orlando, the immersive attraction recreates Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Additional Wizarding World lands now operate at Universal parks in Japan, Hollywood, and Beijing.

Imagining how genetics works in 'Harry Potter' and how muggle-born Hermione is a witch

Dr. Robert Pyatt, director of Sanford Health’s medical genetics lab, talks through real-world genetics scenarios in the Harry Potter series, from the Weasley's red hair and freckles to why Hermione, a witch, could be born to "muggle"—or nonmagical—parents.

'Harry Potter’ transformed the young adult publishing industry

The series’ success reshaped the market for youth fiction. In 1997, about 3,000 young adult titles were published annually. By 2009, that number soared to 30,000 as publishers chased the next major phenomenon.

MuggleCast is the original ‘Harry Potter’ fan podcast

Launched in 2005 by the creators of MuggleNet, MuggleCast offers weekly discussions, news and fan theories on Harry Potter. It quickly became one of the internet’s major fandom podcasts and still runs today.

Translating ‘Harry Potter’ required creativity across 60+ languages

This Vox video explores how translators adapted JK Rowling’s wordplay, invented spells, and cultural references—reimagining names and magical terms while attempting to preserve humor, rhythm, and meaning for readers around the world.

The ‘Harry Potter’ franchise is valued at more than $32B

Combining book sales, films, theme parks, and merchandise, Harry Potter ranks among the world’s highest-grossing media franchises—estimated at more than $32B in total value, alongside giants like Star Wars and Marvel.

'Muggle’ entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003

The Harry Potter term for a nonmagical person became an official English word when the Oxford English Dictionary added it in 2003—cementing the series’ influence on modern language and popular culture.

Researchers found that reading 'Harry Potter' made children more tolerant

Psychological research showed that children and young adults who read Harry Potter developed greater empathy and more accepting attitudes toward marginalized groups.

A scientific analysis of famous time travel stories

This 8-minute video explores how time travel influences the narrative arc of several movies, books and video games, from Harry Potter to A Christmas Carol. (Warning: it contains spoilers!) J.K. Rowling and Charles Dickens set myriad parameters as they’re worldbuilding to avoid paradoxes and create quasi-logical timelines. By drawing diagrams as he’s speaking, the video breaks down how time works in some of popular culture’s most beloved fictional universes.

'Harry Potter’ inspired a real-life version of Quidditch

Created by college students in 2005, the broomstick-based sport became an international phenomenon with organized leagues and World Cup tournaments. Now called Quadball, it’s played in more than 40 countries worldwide.

JK Rowling’s comments on transgender issues have sparked controversy and boycotts

Since 2019, Rowling’s public statements on gender and trans issues have prompted widespread backlash, leading many fans to attempt to distance her views from the Harry Potter series.

The first ‘Harry Potter’ book was retitled for US readers

Scholastic changed "Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone" to "Sorcerer’s Stone" in 1998, fearing the original title sounded too academic and might confuse American readers unfamiliar with the word’s magical meaning.

'Fantastic Beasts' expanded the film franchise with mixed results

Warner Bros. launched the "Fantastic Beasts" prequel series in 2016 to explore the wizarding world’s earlier history. Despite strong openings, later films saw declining box office returns and lukewarm critical reception.

Some believe 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' is a political allegory

Although Baum claimed his book was intended as a simple children's story, scholars challenged that notion. One high school history teacher, Henry Littlefield, began teaching the book as a satire of the Gilded Age and published an essay inspiring other scholars to consider the text as a politically charged allegory.

King's books are now taught by college professors

Stephen King’s horror, fantasy, and science fiction were once considered lowbrow and unworthy of serious academic study. That's changed over the last 50 years, with King courses and symposiums taking place at universities around the world.

Hear 2 literature professors unpack the legacy of 'Animal Farm'

The University of Oxford's David Dwan—a professor of English literature and intellectual history—is an Orwell scholar who has written about the author's politics, especially as they relate to "Animal Farm." In this conversation with Dr. Nathan Waddell, from the University of Birmingham, UK, Dwan explores how framing the novella as a beast fable both made it more accessible and allowed it to be overly simplified.

Listen to 3 scholars discuss the work of Emily Dickinson

Fiona Green, Linda Freedman, and Paraic Finnerty—three British academics who study Dickinson—discuss the poet's life, distinctive writing style, and impact on the generations who followed, illustrating that part of Dickinson's appeal lies in her open-ended verse, which invites readers' many interpretations.

The ‘paranormal activity’ lab at the University of Virginia

Near-death experiences aren’t the only thing they study at Greyson’s Division of Perceptual Studies. The lab approaches a host of “paranormal” phenomena—like past lives and out-of-body experiences—with the same academic rigor as the physics or economics department.

What is psychoanalysis?

This nine-minute video, the first of a four-part series, seeks to answer the questions: what is psychoanalysis, and is it weird? The answer to the latter question is overwhelmingly yes. The answer to the first question is a bit...

Historians debate whether 'Hamilton' is good for historical education

In this article, historians debate whether "Hamilton" deepens public engagement with US history or distorts it—examining accuracy and racial casting, and whether the musical's cultural impact outweighs its historical compromises.

Explore rare artifacts from the archives at Mount Vernon

This series from Washington's Presidential Library showcases rare books, maps, letters, and artifacts from his collection. It illuminates how he learned, governed, traveled, and understood the world around him.

See the plot of land where Thoreau built his Walden cabin

Harvard's Lawrence Buell takes viewers down to Walden Pond to show them the spot in the woods where Thoreau constructed his modest cabin. Along the way, he reads from "Walden" and explains why Thoreau's text still matters 170 years after its publication.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

How the most famous Ebola book, The Hot Zone, which sold 3.5 million copies and was translated into 30 languages, got aspects of the disease so wrong.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'